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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26568343">The Reaper</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/transnini/pseuds/gyultaeil'>gyultaeil (transnini)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - College/University, Drinking, Friends to Lovers, Lack of Communication, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:35:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,611</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26568343</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/transnini/pseuds/gyultaeil</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Being Johnny's friend was the highlight of Taeil's life. He was fun, smart, kind and as open-minded as a teenager could be. It was less than three months into their friendship when Taeil came out to his friend. Unsurprisingly, Johnny didn't even bat an eye at this new information. He reassured Taeil many times that he could always talk to him about anything and anyone. And so they kept their bond strong, spending the most of their school time together and having each other’s back.</p><p>Taeil couldn't pinpoint exactly when he fell in love with Johnny. Perhaps it was when Johnny first smiled at him at Yuta's party, or maybe when he hugged him after Taeil came out. It could also be when he caught himself staring at the way Johnny peacefully slept, with his hair falling over his eyes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>94</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Moon City Fic Fest</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Reaper</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: Person A has been pining after Person B for the past 5 years. Person B is oblivious and doesn't realise this at all. Will Person A miss their chance when Person B seems to be taking an interest in someone else?</p><p> </p><p>i've been working on this story for a while now, but it's finally here. hope you enjoy it!<br/>if you do, please leave kudos and comments.<br/>also, thank you so much to ethan for betaing this!<br/> </p><p>  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4vHoOPIlILceWMPGY5XEmJ?si=6_M_KHMhT6axgVav_VZ82Q">the reaper - keshi</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>Taeil met Johnny when he was fifteen years old. Johnny had just arrived from America and was about to start the school year in Seoul. Somehow, he ended up in a class with kids a little older than him—he still managed to be taller than everyone, though.</p><p>By then, Taeil had already watched his fair share of angsty gay movies and had some internet friends who helped him realize that there was nothing straight about him. Johnny, on the other hand, had zero notion of his own sexuality.</p><p>At the beginning, they couldn't be called friends, standing in the lane of merely classmates. It stayed like that until Yuta's birthday party.</p><p>When Taeil got to the party, some of the boys were grouped around Yuta's backyard, drinking soda from red paper cups. Only one guest didn't join the circle: the Tall New Kid, as Taeil liked to call him, stood a few feet away from the young boys, talking with Yuta's parents.</p><p>Taeil didn't have that many friends in school. His best friend was Qian Kun, childhood friend and neighbour. Still, he got along just fine with some of the guys from his class—and that included Yuta and his friends. Yuta was a very kind boy, who welcomed and accepted everyone. Therefore, he was always nice to Taeil. Apparently, Yuta was just the same with Tall New Kid as well.</p><p>When dawn came, Yuta's parents said their goodbyes and retreated to their bedroom while all of the boys took the birthday party to the living room. They were all high on a sugar rush by now—dozens of cups of soda each, plus tons of cake, and a diverse selection of other sweets. After a round of some silly stories about middle school, one of the boys made a suggestion: "Let's play gay chicken!"</p><p>Taeil absolutely did not want to play gay chicken. Even though he wasn’t out to anyone other than Kun, Taeil hated hiding and pretending. So he just never mentioned his sexuality in school. He never thought the day would come when his classmates would propose a game where they all had to prove they were straight.</p><p>Taeil had failed to consider that fifteen year old boys were stupid.</p><p>The boy who suggested the game was quick to explain the rules for those who didn’t know: two people pretend to be gay, the first one to back out is the loser. Taeil had a few options. First: get up and leave. Second: speak out against the awful idea, criticizing his classmates for their blatant heteronormative behavior. Lastly: play the game and be the ultimate winner. Eventually, he chose the latter—he would’ve never imagined back then, but that decision would cause tremendous consequences in his life.</p><p>Apparently, though, he wasn’t the only one who had second thoughts about the game.</p><p>“This seems kind of dumb,” Tall New Kid said.</p><p>Before Taeil could voice his agreement, Yuta spoke: “Come on, it does sound stupid, but it might be fun. Let’s try it for at least one round.”</p><p>They chose each couple by spinning the bottle. The thing Taeil had going for him was not only that he already knew he liked boys, but he was also funny as hell. So, when it was his turn, the other guy lasted less than a minute. Other than that, though, it was all boring as hell. Until, eventually, they paired him with Tall New Kid. His plan was the same as it was the first time: shamelessly flirt. Except Tall New Kid didn’t back out with disgust—he smiled.</p><p>Every time Taeil came up with something new, the other one shot right back at him with some cheesy pick up line—it was funny, but he was immune to it. Eventually, the other guests decided it was getting ‘too lame’ since none of them seemed to even flinch at each other’s attempts, and they called it quits.</p><p>Ever since that party, they drifted towards each other. In time, Taeil was spending more time with him than he did with Kun and that never stopped. They stuck together through every school year and even after that. It was in the last year of college, though, that something changed.</p><p> </p><p>Being Johnny's friend was the highlight of Taeil's life. He was fun, smart, kind and as open-minded as a teenager could be. It was less than three months into their friendship when Taeil came out to his new friend. Unsurprisingly, Johnny didn't even bat an eye at this new information. He reassured Taeil many times that he could always talk to him about anything and anyone. And so they kept their bond strong, spending the most of their school time together and having each other’s back.</p><p>Taeil couldn't pinpoint exactly when he fell in love with Johnny. Perhaps it was when Johnny first smiled at him at Yuta's party, or maybe when he hugged him after Taeil came out. It could also be when he caught himself staring at the way Johnny peacefully slept, with his hair falling over his eyes. In reality, though, it didn't matter. Taeil would never ruin the friendship they had by confessing his feelings.</p><p>In the first year of college, Johnny came out as bi. He had gone to a party with his friends while Taeil was sleeping over at Kun's. The day after, Johnny had called him to tell him excitedly about the boy he had hooked up at the party and how he realized he wasn't just attracted to girls.</p><p>Fortunately, being in love with one of his best friends didn't hurt Taeil. They hung out every week, had an active social life and hooked up with other people and it was all okay. Taeil had heard enough stories to know the danger of telling a close friend you were in love with them, so he kept it to himself.</p><p>It only started to hurt when Seungyoun came along.</p><p> </p><p>It was a friday night. Taeil, Kun, and Kun’s boyfriend Ten joined Johnny and some of his friends from college at a house party to celebrate the end of the semester. Even though Taeil was not the most sociable person, he did like to party with his close friends. And after one of his most stressful semesters as a biology major, he thought he deserved it. He had it in his heart that it would be a great night—his favorite people were by his side and he had nothing to worry about.</p><p>Until, in a circle full of mostly strangers, Johnny put his arms around a tall boy Taeil had never seen, and said: “This is Seungyoun, my boyfriend.”</p><p>Taeil couldn’t really remember anything that was said after that. All he could focus on was Seungyoun’s laugh and the erratic beating of his own heart.</p><p>When he realized he could actually move his own legs, he turned around and went inside the house. Getting to the bathroom was a struggle—too many rooms with too many people in his way. He didn’t even know he was nauseous, his body just led him there, to a stranger’s bathroom floor. At least he remembered to lock the door so no one would see him with vomit on his jacket.</p><p>As soon as it was over, the nausea stopped. Getting himself to stand up and leave was another struggle, but one he was committed to win because he couldn’t risk his friends seeing him like this. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket while he made his way back to the front yard and sure enough, there was Kun trying to reach him.</p><p>“Hey, are you okay?” his friend asked, when Taeil was back with the group.</p><p>“I think I’m leaving.” He had no idea what time it was, but the house was still packed, so it couldn’t be that late. Everyone was still there; Ten playing games on his phone, that guy Seungyoun laughing with someone Taeil couldn’t remember the name of, and Johnny staring at him with concern. “Yeah, I’m going to head home. You guys stay here.”</p><p>“Taeil—”</p><p>He left his friend behind and pulled his phone out to call a car. Taeil knew he was making them worry, but he didn’t want to talk about it now, he would call Kun later.</p><p>“Taeil!” The car was minutes away when he heard Johnny call for him. “Wait up.”</p><p>“Hey. Um, my car is almost here, so…”</p><p>“Oh, I can take you if you want, I drove here.”</p><p>“No, that’s alright. The car is almost here.” Only one more minute, come on.</p><p>“Hey, are you okay, you don’t seem—” to Taeil’s relief, the motor of a car pulling up interrupted Johnny.</p><p>“I have to go. See you, Johnny.” Finally.</p><p> </p><p>Taeil and Johnny might not be childhood best friends like Kun and Taeil, but Johnny was not far behind that. Taeil could honestly say he knew a lot about Johnny, even though the younger was way more sociable than he was. He might not know the name of all of Johnny’s friends—since Johnny was liked by so many people—but he knew generally the groups he hung out with, or the places he usually went to. He had never heard of Seungyoun. He didn’t even know that Johnny was seeing someone. He would’ve mentioned if he was, right? But he didn’t, and now he had a boyfriend while all Taeil had was a ten year long crush on one of his best friends.</p><p>He didn’t know what to do and avoiding Johnny would be a difficult task. Johnny was always in touch: he called and texted all the time when he didn’t just randomly show up at Taeil’s apartment building. Avoiding the fact, then, would be a better choice. He could just pretend he had never heard those lines—my boyfriend—and go on with their friendship.</p><p>“Taeil,” Kun called to him, “you’re spacing out again.”</p><p>Taeil sighed. Giving himself a headache over the matter wasn’t doing him any good either, especially since he still hadn’t talked to anyone about it. “Sorry, what were you saying?”</p><p>“I asked what you’re so worked up about?”</p><p>“What? Nothing, I’m okay,” Taeil said, bringing his attention back to the present. “Did you choose the movie?”</p><p>“Yes, twenty minutes ago. How about you tell me what’s up now?”</p><p>“It’s—” Taeil sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I don’t know, just, I feel kinda weird, maybe it’s the end of the exams, but I’m okay.”</p><p>“Is it Johnny?”</p><p>Kun was a better friend than the word could even describe, or, Kun was exactly what a friend should be. He knew Taeil better than his own family ever could, and although Taeil was shy to share his feelings sometimes, always thinking he was being a bother, he knew Kun would always be right beside him. So, of course, he knew about Johnny.</p><p>“Did you know about the boyfriend thing?”</p><p>“No.” Kun shook his head. “You’re closer to him than I am. I thought you knew, at first. But after you ran away, it was kind of obvious you didn’t.”</p><p>“I didn’t know either.”</p><p>“You can say you’re hurt, you know.”</p><p>“I know, but it’s no use.” Taeil sighed. “It changes nothing. He doesn’t know and it’s not like he would spend the rest of his life without being serious with someone.”</p><p>“I told you this many times before, but I still feel the need to say that he should know how you feel. Ten and I would never be together if he didn’t have the guts to tell me how he felt about me.”</p><p>“It’s different,” he said, getting up from his seat. “You already liked him back. I’m going to get water, do you want anything?”</p><p>“Taeil…”</p><p>“It’s okay, Kun. I’ll think of something.”</p><p>In reality, he just wanted the conversation to end. Perhaps he would feel good talking about it with someone, but no solution could come out of it so, in the end, it would just make matters worse. Time would probably make this feeling fade, until he could actually get over Johnny and it would all be okay.</p><p> </p><p>He missed the time when loving Johnny didn’t hurt. Now, everything about it brought him pain. It had been weeks and that pain seemed far from fading. He started doing everything in his power to minimize it, but Johnny was persistent. Everytime Taeil told him he was busy or that he didn’t feel like doing anything, he would show up at his doorstep with that same bright smile. If Taeil didn’t love him so much, he’d find it annoying.</p><p>Johnny managed to gather their mutual friends at Taeil’s place for drinks and movies. Obviously, Taeil was not that excited for it but, again, saying “no” to Johnny was the hardest task in his life. Kun and Ten got there earlier, trying to cheer Taeil up. They almost managed to do it but, as soon as Johnny arrived, it was all for nothing. The younger had brought Taeil’s favorite pizza—half pepperoni, half pesto—and some beers, also from Taeil’s favorite brand. Not long after that, Yuta and Mark arrived with tequila. Usually, Taeil would think tequila was a bad idea. Given the circumstances though, mixing tequila with beer seemed like a wonderful way to spend the evening.</p><p>By the end of the first movie, Taeil lost track of how many shots he had taken. When the credits started rolling on the screen, he felt a pair of eyes on him.</p><p>"Hey," Johnny said. "Feeling okay?"</p><p>"Hm? Yeah, I'm great," he answered.</p><p>Kun had gotten up from his seat to turn on the light, the sudden brightness hurting Taeil's eyes. Now, he could clearly spot the concern on Johnny's face.</p><p>"Johnny, I'm okay," he laughed. "I'm gonna get a beer, do you want one?"</p><p>"No, mine is full. Taeil, wait—"</p><p>Taeil quickly got up from the couch, ignoring the instant dizziness and making a straight line to his kitchen. After getting himself another beer can, he went to the balcony to get some fresh air. If he closed his eyes and inhaled the chill evening air, he could almost pretend the love of his life would eventually love him back. He was sick of pretending it didn’t matter, as he had spent years doing it. Sometimes, mostly when he was younger, he’d lie awake at night thinking of scenarios where Johnny would actually reciprocate his feelings. Every hope of that would always vanish by the morning. Now, with Johnny dating someone else, he didn’t even dare to hope.</p><p>“Taeil.”</p><p>Taeil sighed. He really was sick of pretending and he didn’t know how much more he could take, especially with Johnny going after him no matter how many times he tried to run away.</p><p>“Come on, talk to me,” Johnny said, his voice quiet and worried.</p><p>“Johnny, what?” Taeil huffed. “I’m okay. I’ll be right inside, just let me be alone for a little while, please.”</p><p>“Wow.” Johnny was not used to a rude Taeil, none of them were. “Sorry… I just—I miss seeing you smile like you really mean it.”</p><p>"Yeah, I miss it too," he laughed humorlessly.</p><p>"You can always talk to me, you're one of my best friends."</p><p>"That's exactly why I can't talk to you about this, Johnny." Taeil laughed again. He needed to get out of there immediately, but his feet just wouldn't move.</p><p>“What?” Johnny asked, confusion written on his face.</p><p>“How can I talk to you about you?” Taeil tried, but the words wouldn’t stop coming out. “You’re the one who’s causing it all! And I need to get away, Johnny, I’m sorry but I really do and you just won’t let me. It hurts even more.”</p><p>“Taeil—”</p><p>“I love you, Johnny.” he choked on a sob. “I’m sorry”.</p><p>His feet finally started moving. He needed to get away. His friends’ voices—most likely Kun and Johnny’s—were just indistinct noises in the background while he moved through his own apartment. Finally, he reached the door and left them all behind.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He was right to think being away from Johnny would hurt just as much. It did. After the first day, he had to block the younger man on every social media, or he wouldn’t stop messaging and calling him. The second and third days were still awful. Taeil couldn’t see any of his friends, because he felt like they all pitied him. Of course, he couldn’t run away from Kun for too long. So, one day when Taeil was coming back from the grocery store, Kun was standing by his door waiting for him.</p><p>“I gave you time.” Kun smiled.</p><p>“I know.” Taeil sighed. “Come in.”</p><p> </p><p>“How have you been?” Kun asked, after they put all the groceries away and sat together on the couch.</p><p>“I don’t know. Sometimes I feel awful, sometimes I barely feel anything. Don’t know which is worse.”</p><p>"Have you heard from…"</p><p>"Yeah." He knew Kun meant Johnny. "I've not been answering him, though. I mean it, I need to say away from him."</p><p>"Taeil." Kun sighed. "I thought about not telling you this, but both of you are my friends so I guess I should. Johnny has been in pretty bad shape since you two stopped talking. These days we barely even see him."</p><p>Kun's words actually came as a surprise for Taeil. Even though the older was certain Johnny loved him as a friend and valued their friendship, Johnny was also a very sociable person who had tons of other friends. So, this reclusive side of him was something Taeil had never seen before, even in the times his younger friend was going through some problem. That little voice inside his head that told him to just reach out to Johnny became even louder, but he couldn’t. If he did, besides ending up hurt, he could hurt Johnny too in the process. He saw that look on Johnny’s face that night on his balcony when Taeil threw rude words at him. The younger was so sensitive and caring that if he had to reject Taeil—which of course he would do—he’d probably be devastated to make his friend sad. On the other hand, if Taeil had to keep hiding his feelings while still being friends he’d still be miserable, only causing Johnny concern.</p><p>“I wish things weren’t this way, Kun, I really do, but it has to be like this. Can you… make sure he’s alright? You don’t even need to tell me, I just want him to be happy.”</p><p>“What about you? Don’t you want to be happy? Because right now all I see is you two being miserable.”</p><p>“He loves someone else, Kun,” Taeil said defeatedly. “As long as I don’t get over him, I’ll never be happy.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It has been two weeks since then. None of his friends mentioned Johnny again ever since the talk he had with Kun. He actually felt better, although he still had a long way until he could say he was really happy. He had become more sociable again, Ten and Yuta’s antics and Kun and Mark’s kind words keeping him grounded.</p><p>School was back now, which also helped Taeil to focus on something else other than Johnny and everything that happened between them. Next month he would begin his new internship and he couldn’t be more excited. Normally, he would be telling Johnny all about it. But now his life was different and he had to get used to it—until he completely healed, at least.</p><p>It was late in the night already, Taeil was revising his notes for that week’s classes when he got a message from Kun with only an address and a line that said be there tomorrow at 5 PM, i’ll meet you there.</p><p>Thankfully, Taeil didn’t have classes on Friday that semester. He was pretty well rested when he got off the bus to the address Kun had sent him, just a few minutes before 5 PM. Of course, Taeil’s luck could never be a hundred percent on his side so, just a few seconds later, the weather suddenly changed and rain drops started falling down his forehead. He ran but, still, by the time he found the right place at the address, he was pretty drenched. It was an art gallery he had never seen before. He had been to some galleries with Johnny, mostly photography exhibitions, and that was the first memory that came to his mind when he realized what the place was.</p><p>Already inside the gallery, he figured there was some kind of cocktail party going on, spotting tables filled with finger food and champagne glasses. He messaged Kun, since he still couldn’t see him anywhere, and took a closer look to the sign next to the front door: Photography students exhibition - Choi Yeonjun, Jeon Jaeyoung and Johnny Suh.</p><p>Taeil had no idea how long he stood staring at the white, decorated board in front of him. It felt like endless minutes, in which no oxygen seemed to reach his body. Eventually, he noticed his cell phone buzzing in his pocket and forced himself to stop looking at Johnny's name. It was a message from Kun: please, just look at least at the last picture, it's the only thing i ask. you can be mad at me if you want.</p><p>Kun rarely begged, and that caught Taeil's attention. Perhaps Johnny wanted some closure and asked Kun to arrange this meeting. This was probably what it was about. Despite how awful the thought of confronting Johnny seemed, he felt like he owed him this; they were gonna have to meet sooner or later. So, for Kun and for Johnny, Taeil took a deep breath and entered the exhibition.</p><p>The first part seemed to be reserved for Choi Yeonjun’s photos, but Taeil didn't even need to see the name to know they weren’t Johnny’s. Knowing the younger for so many years, Taeil was proud to realize he had grown to recognize Johnny's style.</p><p>Taeil didn't pay attention to Choi Yeonjun's pictures, but he still walked slowly as he could, cherishing the minutes before he would finally have to face Johnny's work and probably Johnny himself. Soon, he got to the second part of the exhibition, with Jeon Jaeyoung's photos. From what he could see, they were beautiful and well taken, but Taeil was in no state of mind to pay attention to any of them.</p><p>Finally, he got to Johnny’s section.</p><p>"Johnny Seo - born in 1995, the Chicago-born South Korean photographer shares his work for the first time in an exhibition. The following photos share Seo's intimate views and style grouped under the title ‘Memories.’”</p><p>As Taeil expected, the pictures were all black and white. He could vividly remember some of them, like the one of Mark in a noodle restaurant downtown. Some of them, he had never seen before. Johnny's photos gave away a type of deep intimacy and beauty or, perhaps, Taeil was just biased.</p><p>When he got to the last one, he lost the all breath that was left in his lungs. He remembered exactly the date and place the picture was taken. Taeil had the busiest week of uni, so Johnny wanted him to relax and take his mind away from studies. They had gone to the beach, just the two of them, for a whole weekend. Taeil was so happy, he loved the sea almost as much as he loved spending time with Johnny.</p><p>It was a picture of Taeil smiling with the sea behind him. Without really meaning to, he smiled again just by looking at it. By the bottom of the frame, Taeil read a sign with the photo's title and description: "The reaper, 2019. Love me let me know, stay or should I go."</p><p>"Thank you," he heard someone say, a voice he had been missing for quite some time.</p><p>He wanted to ask what the other was thankful for, but he just couldn't speak. He looked to his side and there he was. Tall, elegant and perfect. Taeil rarely saw Johnny in suits and he looked so damn good in one.</p><p>"For being here and for the picture. It's my favorite one," the younger one said.</p><p>"I—" Taeil started, "Johnny, what does this mean?"</p><p>"Taeil, you really suck at assuming, don't you?" Johnny chuckled.</p><p>"Don't mock me," he said quietly. "You have a boyfriend. Why would I assume anything else?"</p><p>Johnny looked confused at this. "What boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend."</p><p>"Seungyoun. I was there when you introduced him as your boyfriend, Johnny."</p><p>"Oh my god." Johnny laughed, making Taeil angry. How can he laugh? "Seungyoun is not my boyfriend, he never was."</p><p>"But—"</p><p>"Listen first, okay? There was a girl at the party. She was flirting with me relentlessly, but I didn't want anything to do with her. That's why I said Seungyoun was my boyfriend, so she could hear it and leave me alone. I didn't explain to you because I thought you knew. I would never date someone without telling you, Taeil. I would never date anyone, Taeil."</p><p>Taeil stood there quietly, just staring back at the taller person in front of him. He couldn't be that dumb, right? There had to be a catch somewhere, something that told him all those past weeks of suffering weren't for nothing.</p><p>Johnny sighed. "Do you get what I'm saying now?"</p><p>Taeil wasn't sure. He heard what Johnny said, of course. But he still couldn’t comprehend what it meant. What did he mean he would never date anyone?</p><p>“Okay,” Taeil said. “Fuck, I feel so stupid”.</p><p>“You’re not! I promise. Can I hug you?” As soon as Taeil nodded, Johnny had his arms around him. It was warm and safe, just like he remembered. "I missed you."</p><p>"I missed you, too," Taeil said back, with tears forming in his eyes. Johnny was back to him.</p><p>Johnny broke the embrace, putting his hands on the shorter man's shoulders. "So, what's your answer?"</p><p>"Answer for what?"</p><p>"Love me, let me know. Stay or should I go."</p><p>It was a line from a Keshi song, an artist Johnny had shown to him. A song they had listened to together so many times before. And now Johnny was throwing those same words at him. Did it really mean what Taeil thought it meant?</p><p>"I already told you I love you, stupid," Taeil said, because that's all he could think of.</p><p>"So stay. Stay with me, please."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Taeil loved warm days. The less clothes he was wearing, the better. Still, no matter how hot the weather was, or whether he could feel the sweat dampening his hair, Johnny's tight embrace was the most comfortable place.</p><p>"Too hot for you?" the younger asked while they lay on the grass.</p><p>"Mhm," Taeil answered. "But it feels good."</p><p>If he could, he would never leave Johnny's embrace. Somehow, it was still the same between them. They were the best of friends, talked about everything and spent most of their time together. Except now, Taeil wasn't afraid to touch Johnny when he wanted to, to hold him and to stare at him whenever he felt like it.</p><p>"We should be going home by now, I can hear your stomach growling," Johnny said.</p><p>Just like so many times before, they would walk home together. But now, Taeil would hold Johnny's hand without feeling insecure about it.</p><p>"Yes, let's go home," Taeil answered. "Johnny?" he called, when they were both standing.</p><p>"Hm? Yes, babe?"</p><p>"I love you."</p><p>"I love you, too." Johnny smiled.</p>
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